Thursday, July 21, 2005

Blogging

As many of you know, Romance Writers of America has their huge annual conference next week. I anticipate writing something ahead of time and loading it up for each day. I'm coming up on 2 months of blogging and I'm not sure how this blog is working -- is daily too intimdating for those who miss a day or two? Is there too much information? Do you want more about my life? (which I find fairly boring, surely you don't want to know the plumber is coming this evening and the grief the bathtub -- one of my favorite places to read -- has been giving me?)

As for my writing life, that's not exactly glamourous either. I've been adding stagnant paragraphs to the two synopses I've been writing for days...yes, there's great tension and drama in a critique buddy's writing life, but that shouldn't go public. Ever. I didn't get any contest entries to judge this year in the Colorado Gold (RMFW's contest), but I did send a note to the chair of the Golden Network contest who was looking for published judges in the paranormal category. Fan mail for Heart Choice is trickling in making me dance. I saw a so-so review and was bummed.

Day job has taken a couple of good leaps as my supervisor had a good birthday and a woman who just beat cancer returned to the job (MAJOR CONGRATS BARB!). As a part of the Denver Bar effort (or maybe the ABA) we are collecting supplies for school children (reminding me I could cull out my stack of portfolios and donate).

Family -- I haven't seen my Mom in a month, and haven't spoken much to her (yeah, I've always had a problem with split infinitives). My youngest brother was downsized and this is a major financial drain on the family. Mom doesn't bully me into family gatherings anymore since my writing is actually paying. She and my aunt Sylvia will be at RWA with me, Mom rooming with me (we travel together well unless I'm extremely frazzled and then Mom is wise enough to be serene and keep her mouth shut).

I actually intended to talk about Pitching, or ISBNs in Publishing today, but so it goes. Is this blog too narrow in subject, too boring, too often updated, too rambling? Am I not sparkling and charming enough? Sometimes I can be charming...but I write this at the beginning of the day and that's not my best moment...as an excuse, that's pretty poor, but I'm sticking with it.

I am vey much anticipating the trip to Tahoe with Deidre Knight, the Harlequin party where I'm supposed to wear my favorite outfit (I'm wearing a lovely colorful pajama outfit that I've signed in before but it's not natural fabric and I don't know how it will stand up to four hours of dancing. I'd like to do a pedicure, but I've never painted my toenails in my life and the idea of having an Asian woman who speaks no English down on the mall do them is intimidating -- and how long does that take, anyway? Could I do it over lunch? I often eat lunch at my desk).

So that's my life as I sit her in the very dim light of my office -- blown by the fan set on high as it was all night -- and looking next door at Charlie's red brick and white bow-window stairwell and branches of my trees dappled with pretty yellow sunlight that will turn white fierce later today. Plumbers. Ick.

9 Comments:

Robin, looking forward to meeting you at Deidre's Tahoe Tour next week!! I didn't even realize until last week, as I was going through the Literacy Signing list and noted your name on D's website that you were one of her clients, too! I'm a bit slow, obviously. I was just looking for fellow OOTB authors.

I think your blog is very informative! I read when I can, when I'm not being a good girl and doing my own writing anyway. :-)

Fun to read about your books, yourself and the comments from other writers; I am sure there are others like me, just enjoying the blog and cheering you on. Hope you write about your adventures and impressions at the conference; since I have very little chance of ever being at one, that would be interesting and informative. What does LOL mean? Thanks

LOL means Laugh Out Loud. ROTLMAO means Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off. All sorts of short cuts for email because since there is no face to face interaction, we don't get verbal or visual cues...hmm...another topic, online critique groups and how they should function (or the pitfalls).

Danica -- I am, of course, down to the wire on What Must Be Done, your pedicure friend sounds wonderful. Nora Roberts always have friends giving pedicures...oh, and I'm small and my feet are smaller. They are 4s, so my big toe nail is about as large as a quarter and my little toenail could be done in a dab...

Sure, I can talk about the conference.Wednesday we have the booksigning in the evening, and I am meeting the Celtic Hearts group. Thursday, the PRISMS are awarded, and there's the Death by Chocolate party. Friday, there's the publishers' party...and that, of course, doesn't include seminars.